Overseas shares traded in the United States rose on Friday, buoyed by financial stocks after Ireland put a 70-billion-euro price on protecting its banks from future shocks, providing relief to investors. Chinese energy companies also added to gains on news that some funds were buying sectors that were heavily invested by the Chinese government.
US-listed shares of Allied Irish Bank rose 20.4 percent to $2.89. Bank of Ireland shares also jumped 22.3 percent to $2.14. The government's tough restructuring means Ireland's financial sector will look very different by 2015: there will be just two core banks, they won't have international aspirations and 72 billion euros of loans need to be sold.
Financial shares rallied after the government said bondholders of the viable banks would not have to take a discount on their investments. But the prospect of investing in the banks still makes some investors wary and funding remains a big concern. Among Chinese energy companies, US-listed shares of PetroChina rose 1.3 percent to $154.27 and China National Offshore Oil Corp added 3.6 percent to $262.14.
The BNY Mellon index of leading American Depository Receipts (ADRs) advanced 1.2 percent, outperforming the broader US benchmark S&P 500 index, which rose 0.5 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading Asian ADRs rose 0.7 percent. The BNY Mellon index of leading European ADRs rose 1.3 percent. An index of European shares hit its highest close in just over three weeks on Friday after strong US jobs data supported the view the global recovery was on track, while technical levels also pointed to a more bullish trend. The BNY Mellon index of leading Latin American ADRs gained 1.6 percent. New-York listed shares of Petroleo Brasil shot up 2.4 percent to $41.41. In the United States, data showed US employment grew solidly for a second month in March and the jobless rate hit a two-year low of 8.8 percent.